3 big Panthers takeaways from Day 1 of the 2021 NFL Draft
By Dean Jones
Jaycee Horn fits the mold
One doesn’t have to look far to see why the Carolina Panthers love Jaycee Horn. He is riding on the crest of a wave after a phenomenal 2020 season with the Gamecocks and has all the right attributes the new regime clearly seeks in their new college recruits.
He plays every snap as if it’s his last and has the talent to match. Horn comes from good stock with his father being a former Pro Bowler and it’s pretty evident that head coach Matt Rhule was enamored with him both on tape and examining the prospect for himself at South Carolina’s pro day.
Horn plays the game exactly how Rhule wants. He is physical, athletic, and ruthless, making him the perfect scheme fit at a real position of need where the Panthers are concerned.
Make no mistake, Horn wasn’t going to be around if Carolina had decided to trade back. He might have even been gone in the next pick after the Denver Broncos took Patrick Surtain, leaving the Dallas Cowboys out of luck in their pursuit of drafting either player to put alongside Trevon Diggs.
This might not have been the sexy pick to everybody. But neither was Derrick Brown last year and that didn’t turn out too badly.